Murder trial set to begin in Halloween death of B.C. teen

[spaminator]

Murder trial set to begin in Halloween death of B.C. teen
QMI AGENCY
First posted: Monday, March 31, 2014 07:56 AM EDT | Updated: Monday, March 31, 2014 08:58 AM EDT
A trial is set to begin Monday for the man accused of murdering an Armstrong, B.C., teen on Halloween night 2011.
Taylor Van Diest, 17, was found badly beaten while still dressed in her zombie costume. She was left unconscious near a set of train tracks, and died later in hospital.
Matthew Stephen Foerster, 28, is charged with first-degree murder.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting and unlawfully confining a female employee at a Kelowna, B.C., escort agency.
That case had been unsolved since April 12, 2005, but in November 2011 police said they had matched DNA from the Van Diest crime scene to DNA they had on file from the earlier case.
Police arrested Foerster in April 2012 in the ski resort town of Collingwood, Ont., just north of Toronto, where they say he'd assumed a different identity.
His father, Stephen Roy Foerster, is charged with obstruction of justice and accessory after the fact in the death of Van Diest.
Taylor Van Diest. (Facebook)

Murder trial set to begin in Halloween death of B.C. teen | Canada | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Man found guilty of first-degree murder in Halloween death of B.C. teen: reports
QMI Agency
First posted: Saturday, April 05, 2014 05:30 PM EDT | Updated: Saturday, April 05, 2014 07:26 PM EDT
A B.C. Supreme Court jury found a Cherryville, B.C. man guilty of first-degree murder in the 2011 Halloween death of 18-year-old Taylor Van Diest, media sources report.
Matthew Foerster, 28, who admitted responsibility for injuries that killed Van Diest but pleaded not guilty to the first-degree murder charge, was convicted Saturday morning following a two week trial in Kelowna, B.C.
Van Diest was found late on Oct. 31, 2011 badly beaten and unconscious near a set of train tracks while still dressed in her zombie costume. She was taken to a local hospital and died the next day.
Court heard Van Diest had defensive wounds on her hands and forearms, and there were noticeable signs she had been strangled, media reports.
In November 2011 police connected Foerster to the attack after matching DNA found on the teens fingernail clippings to DNA they had on file from an earlier case.
Police arrested Foerster in April 2012 in the ski resort town of Collingwood, Ont., just north of Toronto. He was returned to B.C. and charged with first-degree murder.
In Canada, a first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

Man found guilty of first-degree murder in Halloween death of B.C. teen: reports | Canada | News | Toronto Sun